Steady rest



F eb. 7, 1939.

STEADY REST Filed March 16, 1938 INVENTOR' L. L. BABCOCK 2,146,244 I 45 Fig. 2 is a similar view of the steadyrest showof the lugs 23 to. prevent the pin 4 from. turning. 45

Patented Feb. 7, 1939 STATES PATENT oer! g 2,146,244- I 'STEADY REST Lloyd. Ii. Babcock, Compton, Calif-., assignor to The-National Supply Company, Pittsburgh, 2a., a corporation. of. Pennsylvania.v

Application March 16, 1938} Serial No;- 196,178 13 Claims. (Cl. 82.-39-) This invention relates to: a new and improved of an inverted U. The'body lcomprises sections steady rest" otthe type used in conjunction with 2 and 3 which are pivoted together at the pin 4 machine tools, and" is particularly directed to a and which are adapted t engage a Support at device or guiding and supporting a work piece their lower ends. Each section 2, 3 has a dependin a lathe or like'maehine ing extension or leg 5, 6 respectively, .the lower In contemporary machine tool practice, cerends of'which are-each provided with an inverted tain classes of work require the use of a steady V guide 1 adapted to engage one of a pair of rest atvarious different positions relative to the parallel ways 8. Three a j s b e guides 9 are work: piece during the sequence of operations. carried by the body I and are adaptedto support 10 It is: frequently necessary to shift the. position and guide the rotatable work piece W in the usual 10 oi thet st'eadyrest'around'some' obstruction on the manner. These guides are preferably positioned work piece. In the conventional type of steady about thework piece W in the manner shown;

rest,-.thi'swoperationi is slow: and cumbersome; and i. e., equally spaced and with the uppermost in a may even entail theremoval of the workv piece substantially vertical position.

from: the. machine before-the steady rest can be A releasable latch mechanism is provided on 15 moved-to a new 'position. the lower end of each of the legs 5 and 6, and Accordingly; the principal object of 'this invenincludes a pin Ill which carries a pair of latches tionis tOrDIOVlL'dB a steady rest which has greater ll integrally connected by a bar member I2. flexibility operation and which can be. re- Each latch has a-hook portion l3 engageable with moved from and relocated upon itssupport witha shoulder I4 provided on the ways 8'. The end- 20 out disturbing-.the workpiecewhichit steadies. portions l5 and IB- of each pin H] which carry Another object of this inventionis to-provide the latches II have the same axis of rotation,

a steady rest. having the general. shape of" an while the center portion H which is rotatably inverted. U,. which. construction is adapted: to supported on the leg 5, is formed eccentric with straddle the. work piece. and. thereby facilitate. respect to this axis. Rotation of the pin ID by 25 the operation ofiplacing the. steadyrest in opera.- means of the head l8 tightens the latches against tive positions the shoulder M to lock the leg 5 to the way 8, and Another object of this invention isto provide: rotation in the opposite direction acts to release a steady, rest composed of two supporting. legs. the lock andpermit the latches II to be swung to hingedl'y secured. together, and a. latch: on the their inoperative position, shown by the dotted go free end of each' leg. to releasably secure it to its lines in Fig. 1. The steady rest can then be resupp'ort. moved from the ways 8.

Another object of. this invention. is to. provide In order to provide adequate strength and a novel lock or latchon the steady. rest so that stiffness with a minimum of weight, the sections it may be quickly. secured or released from its 2 and 3 are formed of a fabricated box construc- 35 support. tion. Accordingly, the face plates. l9 are secured Other obj'ectsand advantages. of this invention. to and spacedapart by webs 20' to form integral will be apparent from the followingdetailed demembers. The section 3 is bifurcated as shown scription of r a preferred. embodiment thereof as at 2 I. whilethesection 2 is provided with a tongue illustrated in the accompanying drawing. 22 'toform a close fit between the lugs 23. The 49 In the drawing: pin 4 projects through the tongue 22 and lugs 23 Fig; 1' is a sideelevation of a preferred embodito form. a rigid hinge connection. A non-circular meritof this invention shown in operative posisection 24 on one end of the pin 4 is adapted-to ti'on u on the'ways of a lathe. fit into a complementary recess 25 formed in one ingli'ow it may be removed from the" lathe ways By tightening a nut 26 on the pin 4, the sections without disturbing thework piece. 2 and 3 can be clamped solidly together.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the device as shown in The adjustable guides 9 are arranged to slide Fig 1. radially of the work piece W within housings 2'! Fig; @is a section view taken on the line 4'--4" carried on the sections 2 and 3. An adjusting 50 as shown inl i'g. 1. screw 28 is rotatably mounted on an end-wall 29 Fig; 5 is a sectionalview taken on the line 5-5' of each of the housings 21 and engages threads as shown iri l 'lg. l formed withinthe guide members 9 to adjust the Refer-ring to the drawing; i indicates the body guides 9 radially of the work piece W. A slot 30 on the steady rest which is of. the: general shape is formed in each of the guide members 9 through which a locking pin 3| the nut 32 on the pin 3| in adjusted position.

The steady rest straddles the work piece W in its operative position with the legs 5 and 6 spaced as to form an opening 33 between them. When it is desired to remove the steady rest, or relocate it relative to the work piece W, the nut 26 is loosened and the latches I l and H. are released and swung to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. When the ways 8 are similar in shape and are of the common type illustrated in the drawing, it has been found that the steady rest can be removed from the ways 8 without disturbing the setting of the adjustable guides 9 and without removing the work piece W. This operation can be accomplished when the steady rest is of the approximate proportions illustrated and when the included angle X formed between the lower guides 9 is substantially greater than the included angle Y formed between the inside slopes 34 of the ways 8.

Under these conditions, when the steady rest is lifted by means of the member 35, the lower radial guides abut the work piece W, causing the sections 2 and 3 to pivot about the pin 4, and causing the lower ends of the legs 5 and 6 to move outwardly. This condition is shown in Fig. 2. After the lower ends of the legs clear the ways 8 completely, the legs continue to move outwardly until the work piece W passes between the lower guides 9. If necessary, the steady rest may be lifted until the work piece WV passes out through the opening 33.

If the steady rest is relocated in a position where the work piece W has a diameter equal to that at its former position, it is only necessary to lower the steady rest so that the inverted V guides 1 come into contact with the lathe ways is passed. Tightening of acts to secure the guide 9 8. Then, by turning the pins ID to tighten the latch hooks l3, and by tightening the nut 26, the operation of relocating the steady rest is completed, without disturbing the work piece W or the setting of the guides 9. It is obvious that if the work piece W is of a different diameter, the setting of the adjustable guides must be changed.

Although I have shown and described a twopiece pivoted type of steady rest, it will be apparent that my invention is not limited to this construction, but is susceptible to modifications, wherein certain features of my invention might be embodied in a steady rest having more than two sections, or constructed as a one-piece yoke, with legs or extensions adapted to straddle the work piece and be secured to supports. Further, I wish it to be understood that I am aware that my invention may be used in other fields where it may be advantageous to use a device similar to that disclosed herein to straddle the work to support and guide it. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein set forth, but my invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A steady rest for lathes comprising two sections hingedly connected together and adapted to straddle the work being supported, an extension formed on the lower end of each section and means provided thereon to engage one of a pair of parallel lathe ways, and means on each extension for releasably locking each section to its respective lathe way.

2. A steady rest for lathes comprising two sections hingedly connected together and adapted to straddle the work, means carried by said sections for steadying the work, an extension formed on the lower end of each section and having means provided thereon to engage one of the ways of the lathe, and means on each extension for releasably locking each section to its respective lathe way.

3. A steady rest for lathes comprising two sections hingedly connected together and adapted to straddle and support the work being operated on by the lathe, an extension formed on the lower end of each section and guide means provided thereon to engage a pair of parallel lathe ways, and means for releasably locking the steady rest to the lathe ways, whereby upon release of the lock means, the steady rest may be removed and replaced on the lathe ways without disturbing the work on the lathe.

4. In a steady rest for lathes, the combination of a yoke shaped body having a pair of depending legs adapted to straddle a work piece rotatably mounted in the lathe, means on each of said depending legs adapted to contact one of the ways of the lathe, and adjustable guides carried by said body and adapted to maintain the work piece on its rotational axis.

5. In a steady rest for guiding a work piece in a lathe, a yoke shaped body, a pair of depending legs on said body adapted to straddle the work when applied to the lathe, guide means carried by said body for steadying the work piece, and means for releasably locking the steady rest to the ways of the lathe.

6. A work support for lathes comprising a plurality of sections hingedly connected together and adapted to straddle and support the work when applied to the lathe, two of the sections provided with guide means to engage with the ways of the lathe, and means for releasably locking the work support to the lathe ways, whereby upon release of the lock means, the work support may be removed from the lathe without disturbing the work.

'7. In a device of the class described for use in conjunction with a work piece and a support, the combination of a body comprising a plurality of sections movably connected together, two of said sections having depending legs adapted to straddle its operative position, and means to secure the lower ends of said legs to said support.

8. In a device of the class described for use in conjunction with a work piece and a support, the combination of a body comprising a plurality of sections movably connected together, two of said sections having depending legs adapted to straddle piece, upon the body being moved into its operative position, adjustable means carried by said sections adapted to steady the work piece, and means to secure the lower ends of said legs to said support.

9. A steady rest for lathes comprising in combination a plurality of members hingedly connected together and adapted to straddle the work on the lathe, two of the members being provided with guide means thereon, said guide means comprising angle sections adapted to engage with complementary angle sections of the lathe ways, means carried on said members for steadying the work, said means including guide members located on either side and below the horizontal axis of the work and symmetrically spaced to form an included angle greater than the included angle formed by the inside slopes of the angle sections of the lathe ways, whereby the steady rest may be removed from the lathe without disturbing the work.

10. A steady rest for lathes comprising two members hingedly connected together and adapted to straddle the work when applied to the lathe, an extension formed on the lower end of each member, means on each extension adapted to engage one of the ways of the lathe, said means including an angle section adapted to engage with a complementary angle section on its respective lathe way, latches for releasably locking each member to its respective lathe way, means on said members for steadying the work, said means including a vertical guide member and two guide members symmetrically located on either side and below the horizontal axis of the work, the included angle formed by the two lower radial guide members being substantially greater than the included angle formed by the inside slope of the lathe ways, whereby upon releasing said lathes the steady rest may be removed from the lathe ways without disturbing the work.

11. In a steady rest for use inconjunction with a work piece and a pair of horizontal parallel ways, the combination of a pair of members pivotally connected together, each member having a depending leg adapted to engage one of said ways, each leg being provided with an angle portion adapted to contact the complementary angle section on its respective way, a plurality of adjustable guides carried on said members and adapted to contact and steady the work piece, two of said guides being positioned on either side greater than the included angle formed between the inside slopes of said angle sections of the ways, whereby the steady rest may be removed from the ways without disturbing the work and without changing the setting of the adjustable guides.

12. In a steady rest for use in conjunction with a work piece and a support, the combination of a body comprising a pair of sections movably connected together, said sections having depending legs adapted to straddle the work piece, means to secure the lower ends of said legs to said support, three equally spaced guides carried by said body and adapted to steady the work piece relative to said body, means to adjust said guides radially of said work piece, and means to secure said guides in adjusted position.

13. In a steady rest for use in conjunction with a work piece and a pair of parallel ways, the combination of a body, guide means carried on the body adapted to steady the work piece, releasable latch means for securing said body to said ways, said latch means including an element rotatably supported by said body about a certain axis, said element having a portion eccentric with respect to said axis, a latch member rotatably supported on said eccentric portion and adapted to engage a shoulder associated with one of said ways, and means to rotate said element.

LLOYD L. BABCOCK. 

